1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to eyeglasses, and in particular, eyeglasses having reversible folding temple members.
2. Related Art
Eyeglasses have been ubiquitous for centuries. Many types of eyeglasses exist, including corrective or prescription glasses, safety and UV protective glasses, sunglasses, reading glasses, 3D glasses, and the like. Eyeglasses generally comprise a frame bearing a set of lenses, a pair of arm members, commonly referred to as temples, designed to hook over the wearer's ears, and a corresponding pair of hinges that connect the temples to the frame. The hinges allow the temples to fold inward in a closing motion from an extended operative or open position to a folded non-operative or closed position, or alternatively, swing outward in an opening motion from the closed position to the open position. In the open position, the temples are approximately parallel to one another to engage the ears of the user when the eyeglasses are being worn. In the closed position, the temples are folded, one over the other, so that they generally overlie the rear faces of the eyeglass lenses.
Generally, the hinges are mounted to the eyeglass frame at opposite ends of the frame and include a screw that secures the hinge to one end of the temples. The screw defines an axis of rotation that extends substantially vertically when the eyeglasses are being worn. The axis of rotation is generally parallel to the plane of the lenses. As the temples of the eyeglasses are repeatedly opened and closed during use, the hinge screws have a tendency to loosen and or fall out completely and, too often, the hinge screws are lost. In addition, the temples of traditional eyeglasses often break at the hinges if the temples are overextended (i.e., pivoted outward beyond 90°) or the eyeglasses are dropped or crushed in an eyeglass case during storage.
Prior attempts have been made to address the drawbacks of conventional eyeglasses discussed above. These attempts include the eyeglass hinge assemblies disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,402,552, 6,530,660, and 6,768,594. However, these prior attempts do not adequately solve the problems discussed above.
Thus, a need exists for an eyeglass assembly that effectively solves the problems associated with conventional eyeglass hinge assemblies and, in addition, enables the eyeglasses to be more compact when folded and even allows the temple members to be easily detached from the eyeglass frame during storage or repair.